SIR ALEX Ferguson will attend a dinner at Old Trafford this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his appointment by Manchester United.

The club have organised the occasion for the 84-year-old, who was in attendance for United’s 3-2 Champions League comeback victory against Roma on Tuesday.

United have invited around 100 guests consisting of former club figures and colleagues in the game.

Ferguson’s 12-year stint as a United ambassador was ended by Sir Jim Ratcliffe last year and it is unclear if the United co-owner will attend the dinner.

Ratcliffe has not attended a United game since the Manchester derby on September 13 and matchgoers have recently aired unsavoury chants about the 74-year-old.

The Ineos founder took a different entrance into Old Trafford for the City match amid protests outside the ground.

Former United chief executive David Gill and ex-director Mike Edelson, who still regularly attend home matches in the directors’ box, are expected to be present.

Despite suffering a health scare at Old Trafford before the home fixture with Liverpool in May, Ferguson has attended the majority of the club’s games this season.

The Scot had his left foot in a protective boot at the start of the campaign after he ruptured his Achilles tendon.

The Premier League held a celebratory lunch for Ferguson’s 20th anniversary in 2006 that the majority of the clubs’ managers attended.

United commemorated Ferguson’s 25th anniversary in 2011 by naming Old Trafford’s north stand after him.

A statue of Ferguson was unveiled the following year and a road near the ground was renamed Sir Alex Ferguson Way in 2013.

Ferguson oversaw a remarkable period where United won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, two European Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Cup during his 26-and-a-half years in charge.

They currently sit 17th in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa.